Relatives declare elderly woman dead while alive for property; get death certificate issued

Chikkamagaluru: In a shocking case, an elderly woman at NR Pura town here was declared dead by her relatives and got a death certificate issued all for acquiring her property.

As a result, the elderly woman, Saramma, not only lost her agricultural land but also denied government benefits for the elderly population.

When the pandemic hit Saramma had gone to live with her daughter. She left the 1 acre and 16 cents of land on survey No 26 of Balekoppa village that she owned in the care of her relatives named E T Babu and Sreeja. Taking advantage of her absence, the relatives planned to grab the agricultural property for themselves.

It is alleged that Babu and Sreeja not only declared the woman dead but also fraudulently got a death certificate in her name.

The fraud came to light when Saramma went to the fair price shop to get her rations. She found to her dismay that her ration card had been canceled. When she went to the taluk office to complain she found herself to be dead when she was still alive and well.

Meanwhile, Saramma has sought justice and lodged a complaint at the tahsildar for the return of her land.

A probe is on to find how a death certificate got issued without verification.